Topical Resources

The Energy Conundrum

Summary

This is a lecture aimed at preparing students for making the leap from what is to what ought to be. In it, I present the main sociological theories about poverty and examine several places I've lived—New Orleans, Kenya, and Qatar.

Context

Audience

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

Must be able to sketch and label basic plate-tectonic processes and opening of Gulf of Mexico.
Must be able to sketch and label a salt dome.
Must be able to describe the steps in petroleum formation.

How the activity is situated in the course

This activity comes after a basic introduction to petroleum formation and prior to a culminating synthesis of how we should utilize natural resources.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

The goal is for students to use a basic understanding of energy resources as input for deciding how they should be used.

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

Synthesis is the goal of this activity. The students must synthesize scientific, sociological, and ethical ideas into a consistent world view.

Other skills goals for this activity

All our students struggle with writing. This is another opportunity to work on it.

Description of the activity/assignment

To prepare for this assignment, students first study basic plate tectonics, especially continental rifting and the creation of the Gulf of Mexico. They then study how this results in petroleum deposits. After the attached lecture, they write about how society can best utilize resources.

Determining whether students have met the goals

There is no correct answer to an "ought" question, but there needs to be consistency in argument, accuracy in supporting facts, and consideration of opposing views.

Provenance: Sean Fox, Carleton CollegeReuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Provenance: GSAReuse: If you wish to use this item outside this site in ways that exceed fair use (see http://fairuse.stanford.edu/) you must seek permission from its creator.

GSA supports On the Cutting Edge

The mission of The Geological Society of America is to advance geoscience research and discovery, service to society, stewardship of Earth, and the geosciences profession. We support geoscience education at every level. Join us at http://www.geosociety.org/

Provenance: NAGTReuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Value this site? Help us ensure its future.

The On the Cutting Edge website and workshop program are supported by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). Join today and your membership will help ensure that this site can continue to serve geoscience educators. Join NAGT today

Provenance: NAGTReuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Your NAGT membership helps make this site
possible. Thank you!

The On the Cutting Edge website and workshop program are supported by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). Your membership is helping to ensure that this site can continue to serve geoscience educators.

Images

Files

Provenance

Created by the author of the page containing
this file.

Reuse

This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Provenance

by Dale Easley, University of Dubuque

Reuse

This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.